Love Handles
by TennantDoctor
Summary: The Doctor hits a little bit of a snag in his diet which puts both him and Rose in danger. Does include Doc!Whump (RE-WRITTEN)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello my good readers. **

**This is the brand spanking new version of Love Handles that I've written. If you want to know why I've done it, then it was simply because I realised how much my writing had developed since I started writing the original version and I really wanted to start a fresh and make it more exciting for you all. **

**I mean it when I say I would really appreciate a review with this. I would love to know what you guys make of it and if you've stuck with the original from the start, then I hope that it's an improvement. **

**So without further ado, please read, review but most of all, enjoy!**

**~x~**

In the never ending corridors of the TARDIS, Rose Tyler was on a search for the Doctor. She had just woken up from the first full night's sleep she'd had in weeks, having then gone to get some breakfast like she always did before heading off to the console room where the Time Lord was usually tinkering with the ancient engines of his machine or muttering to himself. She had been surprised to not find him there.

She had then wandered to have a look in the library as he sometimes engrossed in a book while she was sleeping, but he had not been there. She had even resorted to knocking on his bedroom door, as there were rare occasions when he also went to sleep. But she had received the same result. No sign of the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted for what seemed like the seventeenth time, sighing when she got no response once again. She pulled the sleeves down on the grey cardigan she had chosen to wear, gently brushed her blonde hair behind her ears and turned to wander down another section of the corridors.

Suddenly, she was certain she heard a voice. It was faint, but she instantly recognised it as the Doctors. It was emitting from further down the same corridor Rose was in.

If Rose was correct, after spending a good solid year and a bit on the ship, she knew was heading in the direction on the huge wardrobe that contained the clothing of at least three _Primark's_ put together. Even though the TARDIS sometimes seemed to switch rooms around, she was certain that's what was there. Wasting no time, she set of towards the next corner.

"Doctor?" Rose called out as she rounded the sharp turn. She was pleased when she was met with the huge brown doors that did indeed lead to the wardrobe.

_"Come on...this cost me fifty something from that planet...Nggh, oh come on!"_

The Doctor's absurd mumbling could be heard faintly coming from the inside. She couldn't make out some parts of the sentences that were pouring out into the corridor, which was making her only more curious.

_"Come on you stupid-"_

Deciding she couldn't hold back any longer, she glided towards the brown doors, the one on the left already ajar for her to be able to slip inside without making any noise. As she walked through, she caught site of the huge spiral staircase that sat in the centre of the room, surrounded by levels upon levels of clothes which she guessed weren't all from Earth judging by some of the absurd designs.

_"Does it not stretch or...Nhhhg!"_

Rose quickly turned her head to where the Doctor's voice was coming from. A huge mirror was placed behind a stack of shelves and clothes, and she figured that he was behind there.

_"Please...come on…Rose will never let me live this down..."_

Her ears perked up at the mention of her name, which made her curiosity burst its banks. She decided that, instead of just appearing, she would sneakily peak her head round to surprise him. He never liked it when she did that.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, she snuck over to the pile of clothes and shelves and without making a noise, managed to pop her head around the corner. She had been right.

The Doctor was standing with his hands pressed firmly on his hips in front of the long golden mirror propped against one of the coral beams, fully dressed in his brown suit, apart from the brown suit jacket which Rose could see only had one button done up over his chest. He was staring intently at his reflection in the mirror, looking himself up and down and was completely oblivious to Rose's presence.

"Right, let's try this one more time." He suddenly proposed to himself, moving his hands away from his hips and placing a firm grip on one of the buttons on his suit jacket around his lower stomach area and went to connect it with the slit on the opposite side. But to Rose's bemusement, the jacket didn't seem to want to close up.

His face conjured in concentration and agitation, his teeth gritted as he desperately tried to shove the jacket closed around his midriff, but every time he pulled on either side, they simply wouldn't meet. Rose was trying not to laugh at the pained expression on his face as he tried and failed another three times. She knew that the jacket he was trying to put on was one of his favourites, and probably the tightest of all the ones he owned. Slightly confused, she squinted her eyes to focus more on his stomach area, trying to figure out why it wasn't buttoning up.

At first she had thought it had maybe shrunk when he had perhaps tried to wash it, but once she got a better look at his stomach, she realised exactly what the problem was. The only way she could put it, was that he was slightly beefier around his midriff.

Rose had been at her mother's for a week since one of Jackie's friends had been emitted to hospital and Jackie had naturally wanted to visit her every day. Rose wondered if he had stuffed himself silly whilst she had been away. He was one for his food, but he always seemed to be able to eat his weight in it and not put on a pound. So something had to be going on.

Deciding to give up her game of hiding, she straightened herself up and stepped out from behind the clothes. The Time Lord didn't notice her for a couple of seconds due to his eyes being screwed shut, but when he opened them, he jumped a mile high, nearly falling into the mirror.

"Rose," He panted, holding a hand to his left heart. "You don't half know how to scare someone. What's the matter?" He attempted to shuffle his suit jacket around, trying to make himself look innocent.

"Oh nothing," She replied raising her eyebrows. "I was just looking around for you and I heard your voice coming from in here and just wanted to come and see…what you were doing." She slyly folded her arms as his face seemed to begin to glide into a nervous expression.

"Well..er, I was just…just-trying on some new suits!" He exclaimed to Rose, turning back to face the mirror and falsely straightening the already neat pinstriped collar. "What do you think?" He said, outstretching his arms with a smile that hid his nerves from sight.

"It looks good," She replied, nodding her head in approval. Deciding to begin having some fun, she pointed towards his stomach. "It looks a bit…I dunno, tight?"

"My suits are always tight." The Doctor retorted a bit too quickly with a frown, looking away from her to avoid eye-contact. Rose began to walk towards him, the Time Lord still refusing to look at her.

"This one seems a bit, y'know, too tight?" She said, drawing her eyes to his stomach. Now she was up close, her theory was confirmed as she could see that he was indeed, chubbier. She could see that even his shirt underneath was straining around his middle. She mentally kicked herself, not being able to figure out how she hadn't noticed when she had returned yesterday.

"I never really liked this one anyway." He commented as Rose positioned herself directly in front of her. She gave him a cheeky smile as he finally braved to look at her again, her tongue poking out between her teeth.

"I think you could maybe do with a trip to the gym, mister." Rose said, finally letting on to him that she knew what he was trying to hide.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about…" The Doctor gulped, folding his arms over his chest stubbornly. As he did so, his now pudgier midriff stuck out slightly over his trousers.

"I'm talking about this-"She said, giving him a firm poke in the stomach and looking down towards it. He let out an embarrassed 'oof!', one of his hands rushing to the part where she had poked him.

"What do you mean 'this'?" He said, giving emphasis on 'this', still ignoring Rose's motive. "There isn't a 'this', there never was a 'this' and there's never going to be a 'th-"

"Oh you can give up the act now, Doctor." Rose laughed, cutting him off. "It's plain to see you've put on a couple of pounds; why else wouldn't your jacket fit?"

The Doctor scoffed. "I have gone and done no such thing, Miss Tyler! I'm exactly the same as I was a week ago!"

"You might be, but your tummy would disagree I think," She retorted, mockingly reaching about towards the pudgiest bit of his stomach and gripping it between her finger and thumb. He quickly slapped her hand away and covered his stomach with both his arms, bending over slightly. It was hard for Rose to miss the small pair of love handles that formed on his thighs as he did so. She smiled.

"Oh come on, Doctor, there's no point in hiding it. It's not like your fat or anything; you're still skinny. Just…with a bit of extra now." She added as the Doctor unraveled his arms and let out a sigh.

"Fine. Congratulations, you've noticed." He said in defeat, his arms dropping to his sides. "I thought you maybe wouldn't…"

"I'm a woman Doctor, I would have figured it out sooner or later." The Doctor looked towards the mirror again, undoing the one button of his jacket that he had managed to join. "So, now the cats well out of the bag, you gonna tell me how you managed to do this in a week?" Rose asked him.

The Doctor ran his long fingers through his thick brown hair, making it stick up on all ends. "Well, remember a couple of days before your mother rang I took you to that planet with the giant green slugs?"

"Yeah, of course, how could I forget when I was nearly killed by a pack of them?" His companion retorted back to him.

"Well, that bowl of blue stuff that I had from that Re'tanius's shop, that stuff that you said looked and smelled disgusting, I just fancied some more of that the day I dropped you off and, every day for the past week I've been, stopping off at different times. On the bright side, I'm his favourite customer now!"

The Doctor's attempt to change the subject didn't catch Rose out and she simply raised her eyebrow at him. "So, are you saying you've become, addicted to some food?"

"What? No! Time Lords can't do that…" He said proudly, placing his hands back on his hips. "I-I just think it's really nice…tastes like bananas too."

"That still doesn't answer the question though, how can you have put on that much weight from a week of having one bowl of that stuff?"

"Well, to be truthful, I didn't exactly just have one a day…for the past few days I've been having, well, two or three-"

"Two or three?!" Rose exclaimed, concern now brushing in her eyes. "Doctor, how can you say you're not becoming addicted to that stuff? It must be some sort of high calorie junk food to make you put on weight that quick."

"Oi! I can hear you!" The Time Lord huffed.

"Doctor look, I think – and I can't believe I'm saying this – but I really think you could do with ditching that blue stuff and going on a diet," Rose told him up front. "You continue the way you are, you'll be bigger than a Slitheen within the next few weeks!"

The Doctor was speechless for a couple of moments before he managed to respond to his companion's suggestion. "Rose Tyler, how dare you! I'm the picture of health!"

"I wouldn't call this the 'picture of health'…" She said, yet again poking him in his now tubbier gut. "Even though you're not exactly, y'know…huge, I think you could do with losing it. It just doesn't look...you." The corner of her mouth lifted to form a small frown to which the Doctor responded with a sigh.

"Fine, I'll stay away from Getruta'gash," The Doctor said, confusing Rose for second before she realised that was the name of the planet that they had been to and where the blue food came from. "Besides, I'm sure with all the running we do it'll drop off by this time next week." He added with a bit of enthusiasm which made Rose smile slightly.

"You've got to promise me, Doctor. Promise me you'll stay away from 'Getrurgha' or whatever it's called…I only want you to get better. You know I worry…"

"Hey, there's no need to worry about me, Rose, I'll be fine. I promise, I'll never go back. I'll go back to my very slim self in no time." The Doctor reassured her with a wide grin plastered onto his face. Rose couldn't help the urge that overcame her and she reached forward towards the Time Lord and placed her arms around him, embracing him a tight hug. The Doctor, surprised but heartened, wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her blonde hair. The pair let the moment go on, until the Doctor suddenly felt Rose put one of her hands above his thigh and he winced as she pushed her fingers into his flesh.

"Wow, you really have filled out," She said in all seriousness which the Doctor yet again scoffed at, nut had no time to reply. "But that hug was nice I'll give you that, actually better than having to feel all of your ribs and your thigh bones."

"You're really cheeky today, d'you know that?" The Doctor asked her as he pulled away from her laughing form. "Anyway, how about a random trip? We haven't had one of those in ages."

**~x~**

**Don't forget to leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

After a good half an hour of searching, the Doctor had managed to find a brown pin-striped jacket that fit to his new frame, and now he and Rose were stood at the console of the TARDIS, the Time Lord with his hands set upon the monitor ready to input controls.

"Give me a number between one and fifteen," The Doctor said to Rose whose face lit up with excitement as she tried to think of a number.

"Erm…six!" She exclaimed.

"Now one between twenty and fifty," The Doctor responded quickly, his own excitement building up.

Rose thought for a few more moments, tucking her blonde hair between her ears as she bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet. "…Forty-eight!"

"Okay…and finally any three digit number that comes to mind."

"Oh erm…five hundred and twenty three!"

"Right then Rose Tyler, here we go…" The Doctor said dramatically as he entered the last number, pulling on a lever next to the monitor which instantly brought the time machine into life. The rotor began to churn and grind as it moved up and down in the centre of the console and the ship began to tumble backwards and forwards. "Hold on!"

Rose reached for support by grasping to the railing that was closest to her as the TARDIS threw them harshly to the left. The Doctor made his way around each section of the console, flicking switches and pressing buttons whilst trying to keep himself balanced in the process.

A minute passed before the machine seemed to settle down, the Time Lord running around so he could inspect the monitor. "Oh good one Rose, not a gas planet this time." He said to his companion, referring to the previous time Rose had picked the co-ordinates which had landed them into Jupiter's atmosphere. Rose, who was till gripping to the railing, unleashed her grasp and walked over to the Doctor's side.

"I went first last time, so it's all yours," Rose humoured, giving him a friendly bump on the arm with her elbow whilst gesturing to the door. The Doctor stood to his full height and straightened his tie with both hands.

"Well then, what are you standing around for? Allons-y!" He exclaimed to Rose, rushing around the console to grab his long brown coat which was perched on the coral beam closest to the TARDIS doors. He then shrugged it quickly over his arms and stepped over to the doors, waiting for Rose to come up behind him. "You ready?"

"Yeah," She relied back to him with an excited smile. The Doctor then turned his head to face the door and opened them. Instantly, they were hit with a searing bout of sunlight, which blinded the Time Lord as he stepped through the door. The smell of plants and wet grass and mud hit his nostrils, and he inhaled a deep sniff through his nose as Rose strode out from behind him.

Miles upon miles of pure, thick jungle surrounded them with two suns sitting next to each other in the deep blue tinted sky that appeared to lack any form of cloud. They had landed on a slopped cliff which let them overlook all around them, apart from behind which Rose spotted just led into more tall trees that were laced with vines and multi-colored flowers.

"It's…beautiful," Rose said in awe, turning to look at the Doctor who was stood near the edge of the cliff. "And you say I can't pick good numbers."

The Doctor glared at her with his brown eyes fixed into hers. "I never said that I'll have you know, I said that the numbers you picked were usually bad ones," He corrected her with a grin, to which she shook her head, chuckling. "So, which way should we go?"

Rose glanced behind the TARDIS again to look into the depths of the trees. "How about that way?" She suggested, pointing behind them. "We would end up getting lost by the looks of it…"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Are you doubting my navigational skills, Miss Tyler? When you're with a Time Lord, you never get lost." He told her, folding his arms and raising his nose into the air. Rose simply snorted.

"Fine, but if we get lost, I'm blaming you." Rose responded simply, wandering over to position herself beside him. He lifted his elbow in a gesture for her to link arms and she gladly took it.

"Where's your sense of adventure? You're with me Rose, I won't let anything happen to you."

And with that, the two time travelers set of towards the jungle.

**~x~**

Rose could hardly breathe. Her pulse was racing and her face was drenched in sweat due to the humid air as she sprinted past trees and dodged another set of branches.

The creature had appeared seemingly out of nowhere while the Doctor had been showing Rose some alien fruit. It had jumped out from behind a tree, the size of a huge bear with four piercing green eyes and three chunky legs that were covered in spikes and tattered black fur. But that didn't stop it from being a fast runner.

The Doctor was a few paces ahead of Rose, their hands lightly breezing against each other as they frantically tried to increase their speed to get away from the hungry creature that was in pursuit. In the near distance, Rose could see the opening to the cliff and the TARDIS through the entanglement of tree branches.

However, what was worrying her was the Doctor. His usually breathless and agile attire was slightly deteriorating. His brow was also beaded with drops of sweat and, to Rose's horror, the Time Lord was actually beginning to slow down. He met her pace, continuing to run along beside her whilst glancing behind him. The creature was gradually gaining on them, its three long legs bouncing between trees and bushes and the three rows of sharp dagger-like teeth gleaming with saliva.

They had succeeded in reaching the edge of the forest and they burst into the sunlight through the tree trunks, leaves scattering in front of them. The Doctor was already frantically searching for the TARDIS key in his coat pocket as they sprinted towards the time machine. Rose managed to reach it first, rounding the corner of the blue box and quickly turning to see where the Doctor was.

The creature abruptly leapt through the trees at incredible speed and height as the Doctor was approaching the TARDIS, and it didn't hesitate to jump for its prey.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted in horror. But the Doctor didn't have time to respond.

The creature slammed into the Doctor at full pelt, sending him and the creature flying to the ground in a frenzy of speed. He let out a loud yell of shock as he and the creature flew to rocky layer in an entangled mess of limbs. Not being able to stop themselves, they continued to slide across the rocks at unbreakable speed, until they both disappeared over the cliff-edge.

Rose instantly felt her heart drop. "No...nononono…Doctor!" She frantically screamed at the top of her voice, racing over to the cliff edge. She got down on her hands and knees and peered over the edge, fearing the worst.

The Doctor had separated from the raging beast and had somehow managed to slow himself from sliding further down the rocky slope. His nails painfully scratched into the rock as he skidded to halt, gritting his teeth to bite back yells of discomfort, his coat wafting up a trail of dust. The creature continued to skid for a while, its three limbs thrashing around helplessly, but it soon found out how to halt its progress.

"Doctor!" Rose called out to him as she looked side to side to see if there was any way she would be able to get to him. There was a sheer three metre drop before the cliff began to slope out, so Rose knew that he would have no other choice but to climb. "Doctor, are you okay? Can you climb?!"

The Doctor could hear Rose calling out for him and he pushed his body up slightly, looking up at the distance he had tumbled. He wasn't too far down. "I'm okay, Rose!" He called back up to her. "Just stay put, I'm coming!" Just as he had finished calling to Rose, there was a hungry growl emitted from behind the Time Lord and he looked down the cliff to see that the creature had found its balance, and was now attempting to climb towards him.

He immediately began to scamper up the rocks, using his feet and hands nimbly to counter every stone so he could gain speed over the creature. However, as he progressed, he noticed that his breath was beginning to deepen and accelerate and he soon found himself panting, the two hearts in his chest racing to keep him focused. He squeezed his eyes shut as he pulled himself upwards, also noticing the effect the extra weight was having on his strength.

Rose could only observe as the creature gained speed, its tail thrashing around in an agitated manner as it clawed its way up. The Doctor was almost to the top, letting out grunts of exhaustion and pain. As he reached the bottom of the three meter drop, he struggled to kneel on the rocks but managed to secure himself so he was able to rise up towards the edge. Rose stretched her arm down as much as she could, her wide eyes not leaving the stranded Time Lord.

"Hurry, Doctor!" She exclaimed, not being able to ignore how close the alien beast was getting. The Doctor tried to get a foothold so he was able to reach for Rose's hand, lifting himself as much as he could muster. Their fingers brushed lightly and, out of a mixture of determination and fear, he jumped and Rose finally managed to grasp her hand into his. Without any need to be told, she began to help him up, pulling with every ounce of strength she had. However, she instantly found it painfully difficult. He was heavy, much heavier than she had anticipated.

The Doctor's shoes scrapped along the rocky edge as he tried to push himself up, his free hand clawing to try and give him some extra limber. Rose puffed out a strained breath as she continued to hoist up the Doctor, her muscles aching from the effort.

After a good few frantic moments of hauling, the Doctor finally appeared over the edge. Rose kept grasping his hand and she clutched his coat around the neck like the scruff of a dog when she noticed just how out of breath he was. Just as they pulled him over, the beast lashed out with one of its two front legs and narrowly missed the Doctor's backside by inches.

Rose helped the Doctor to his feet and the pair struggled over to the TARDIS, the Doctor thrusting the key into the lock and opening the doors, pushing Rose inside first to make sure she was safe. He took one last look behind him, seeing the head of the creature rising from over the edge, before he too entered through the doors and slammed them shut.

Rose steadily made her way up the ramp, her heart beginning to calm now she knew she was safe. She could hear the Doctor panting heavily and she twisted around to look at him. He was leaning against the door, his eyes focused upon the ceiling. Feeling an urge of wanting to comfort him, she wandered back over to his exhausted and tattered frame, her eyes focused on his. He had a few small scratches running along his cheek.

"Are you alright?" She asked him with concern plain in her tone, reaching out both her hands and grasping onto his arms. "You're heavier than you lo-…well, to be honest, you're just plain heavy." She told him, trying to sound light-hearted to calm him. To her relief, he smiled slightly.

"You were right, y'know," He panted, "I really do need to go on that diet…"

**~x~**

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